Sin Scéal Eile

Azean welcomed us to her gorgeous home. It’s decorated so precisely and so minimalistically, there’s a feeling of space, serenity and peace. This is the space she now calls home, after many years of moving, sometimes couch surfing and sometimes moving to escape abusive relationships. She is originally from Singapore, but speaks with a beautiful Northern Irish lilt. In the last year alone, since she bought her home, her sanctuary, she has come into her own. She’s trying new careers, new hobbies and is finally allowed to rediscover her faith and herself. xR

Blezzing is an extraordinary young woman who has stayed strong and faced down so many challenges in her life. She suffers from chronic illness, and in turn has experienced medical misogyny and racism. Instead of letting them get the better of her, she’s become an intersectional, mental health activist, helping so many others.xR

Niamh has lived a few lives. From working in tech, to relaunching herself with a masters degree in art in her 30s. She’s now living in Belfast and utterly feels the buzz of the place. Her heart is leading her into a brand new passion, astrology. She tells me about all the different types of astrology practice, it’s ancient roots and how she might go about reading a birth chart.xR

Lucy runs a wonderful business where she helps people and companies live their best lives. There’s absolutely no way I can describe her job and do it justice, but it really is so fascinating. Why do we have to wait for a massive health scare or the like for us to realise that “this is not a rehearsal?” Lucy will help you live the life you want and need.

In the middle of the fleadh we popped over to Emma's lovely house for a cup of tea. She has a dream home, beautiful dog and the kind of job that makes you feel like you're doing something worthwhile. She describes her role as kind of a matchmaker for activists to find good lawyers (I'm definitely paraphrasing here).

Who knew that just beyond the back of a housing estate in North Belfast there was a tiny oasis. A place where you can go, switch off your phone, be at one with nature and awaken your inner child. This is the space that Maeve has created. Her ceramics workshops allow you to be creative with no pressure to make anything functional. After that, you can then reset yourself in the sauna or hot tub and then dunk in the cold plunge while admiring the stunning view from Cavehill.

We caught up with Abhishek right before he headed to the airport to fly home to India. He arrived in Ireland 18 months ago and couldn’t love it more. In September he’ll graduate with a masters degree and all going well, will find a job that will allow him to stay. Abhishek is a delight to talk to, he’s bubbly, chatty and very articulate. Obviously he misses home, his Mom, her food and the epic 10 day festivals they have full of dancing and music. 

Aoife was our second guest on the All Curious Minds stage at All Together Now and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. She took us on a fiercely emotional journey about her experience with ayahuasca in Brazil. It led her to completely change her life and become the incredible woman she is today. Both our guests at ATN, Faye and Aoife, are stunning women. They’re courageous, raw, emotional, powerfully honest and conscientious activists. I was so honoured that they joined me. I was also so touched to see the tent completely packed, especially at 1pm on a Sunday. Thank you, so much. Rx

Wow. Just wow. We had our very first live podcast with an audience down at the All Together Now festival in Waterford. We packed out the tent, and I couldn't have asked for better guests, Faye O'Rourke (Soda Blonde) and Aoife Dunne (whose episode we'll share tomorrow).Faye is so creative and channels all of her emotions into both her songwriting and her visual arts. We chat about her process, what drives her, and about getting dark with her art. An incredibly brave and fearless woman (even if she doesn't think so herself!) I can't thank Faye and Aoife enough for taking time out of the Sunday festival to join us on Sin Scéal Eile, and also to all the lovely listeners who piled in the tent. The All Curious Minds stage is ran so well by Raymond and David Bell (whose father you might remember from episode 14/365). Such an amazing family.